Dirk Nowitzki stayed with the Mavs, while LeBron James moved from the Heat to the Cavs. / Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

by Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

by Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

Though there remains a handful of very good free agents on the market, most teams around the NBA have filled out rosters for next season. USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph ranks the best new contracts in the league:

10. PF Josh McRoberts, Miami Heat

Value: four years, $23 million

McRoberts agreed to his new contract before LeBron James left the Heat. And while he still joins a good team, there has to be some question as to whether he would have taken such a small deal (for the full midlevel exception amount) knowing James wouldn't be back. Still, McRoberts is a good fit next to returnees Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and newcomer Luol Deng. He defends well and has exceptional perimeter skills (shooting 36.1% on threes and averaging 4.3 assists a game last year for the Charlotte Bobcats) for a big man.

9. SG Lance Stephenson, Charlotte Hornets

Value: three years, $27 million

In February, Stephenson seemed bound to draw max-contract interest as a free agent. By early May, that had slipped some after a less-consistent second half. Then he pestered James in the most obnoxious of ways during the Eastern Conference finals, blowing in his ear and talking trash to the news media. And the Hornets, rebranding themselves, got a huge-upside steal in a dwindling market for the former Indiana Pacers guard. Charlotte even ensured that third season would come with a team option.

8. SF Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets

Value: four years, $32 million

Utah Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward drew a four-year, $63 million contract extension this offseason as a restricted free agent. Yet Ariza, a veteran who shoots and defends better than Hayward, got stuck with about half that. Many expected the Washington Wizards to re-sign Ariza, but the Rockets swung and missed on Bosh and Carmelo Anthony and lost Chandler Parsons to the Dallas Mavericks, opening up a hole. Ariza could be the difference for this year's Rockets, as they desperately needed perimeter defense.

7. C Spencer Hawes, Los Angeles Clippers

Value: four years, $23 million

Here's a perplexing one: Hawes is 26, the age when many players are chasing their first big paydays. Instead, arguably the best center on the market took a big discount on a long-term deal to be a backup for a contender. Hawes proved last season that he's good enough to start, averaging 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. But he instead represents exactly what the Clippers hoped to add in free agency.

6. SF Luol Deng, Miami Heat

Value: two years, $20 million

This deal is Heat President Pat Riley at his finest. Deng is an All-Star and one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. He won't replace James entirely, but he is about as good as the Heat could've hoped for in replacing the four-time NBA MVP. He also should play well off Bosh and allow the Heat to play big or small lineups.

5. SG Rodney Stuckey, Indiana Pacers

Value: one year, $915,243

Stuckey is about four seasons removed from his peak production with the Detroit Pistons, but he still was a legitimate sixth man of the year candidate last season. That's what makes his league-minimum deal so stunning, a coup for Pacers President Larry Bird in replacing Stephenson. Stuckey could start or come off the bench for Indiana, and he should be a good fit for a team that needs more playmaking. His biggest flaw is three-point shooting, but C.J. Miles also was brought in to help there.

4. PF Ed Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Value: two years, $2 million

In 99 games with the Memphis Grizzlies, Davis averaged 13.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes, shooting 52.9% from the field. So why did the 25-year-old big man have to settle for such a small contract? He was blocked for playing time by Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. The Lakers also have a log-jam at power forward, but Davis has a player option for the second year of his contract. He's too young and talented to be squandered without getting a chance to start.

3. PG Isaiah Thomas, Phoenix Suns

Value: four years, $27 million

The 5-9 dynamo was one of the most productive and efficient point guards in the NBA last season. But size clearly remains a factor, as the 25-year-old landed in Phoenix via a sign-and-trade from the Sacramento Kings. He gives the Suns leverage in their ongoing negotiations with restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe. At the worst, Thomas should be a candidate for sixth man of the year as the top backup to dual point guard starters Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. And expect the chip on his shoulder that already was there from being the last pick of the 2011 draft to grow even larger.

2. SF LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Value: two years, $42 million

The Cavs gave as much as they could to James in a two-year contract, but the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement simply doesn't reward players of his caliber. That's why James took the two-year deal rather than a full four-year contract, hoping that he can make more when TV money comes into play in 2016 and then potentially again after a new CBA likely will be put in place in 2017.

1. PF Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Value: three years, $25 million

The ultimate home-team discount likely will cost Nowitzki at least $20 million, and the Mavs probably would have given him a max contract had he demanded it. The 36-year-old remains a star, posting his most efficient season since 2007-08 last year. But 16 seasons in Dallas have brought him more than $200 million, and he now cares most about helping the Mavs assemble a winner. His new contract, featuring a massive pay cut, is just that.